Social Development in Hong Kong: The Unfinished Agenda introduces the Social Development Index, the unique model used to measure Hong Kong's social development changes, and offers an in-depth assessment of the major findings resulting from its application. With twenty-four chapters written by local specialists, the volume reports on progress in critical sectors such as health, education, housing, transport, arts and culture, and science and technology, and also assesses Hong Kong's response to the social development needs of vulnerable population groups such as children, youth, the aged, women, and people living in low-income households.

The papers in this volume, prepared by social scientists with different specializations, address selected aspects of Hong Kong's post-War development.

This book discusses the policy and public health challenges in Hong Kong from the perspective of economic and social welfare challenges, specifically focusing on the poverty and inequality research supported by the Hong Kong Jockey Club (HKJC) Charities Trust. Conducted by Prof Yip and his research team at the HKJC’s Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention at the University of Hong Kong across a five-year period, the book presents analyses based on high quality statistical data to explore some of the socioeconomic roots of the civil unrest in 2019, while also acknowledging the limitations and challenges of trying to build a stronger society under the constraints of the One Country Two Systems policy. Building on extensive research done by the research team and some governmental data, it provides concrete, evidence-based suggestions for reducing poverty in a high-income society, which are useful not only for Hong Kong but also for other societies experiencing similar challenges. It makes an original contribution to research into inequalities, poverty and social policies, and will be of interest to those seeking to understand the ongoing political challenges in Hong Kong and how they relate to the socioeconomic challenges and policies that affect the everyday lives of ordinary people there. It is relevant to academics, students and policymakers concerned with social inequalities and policy intervention.

Colonial State and Social Policy looks at the determinants of social policy in developing countries in general and Hong Kong in particular in an attempt to remedy inconsistent results, artificial dichotomies of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, and an obvious neglect of developing countries in the field of social policy research. Using an integrated approach of quantitative and historical analysis, the study tests out the variables as predicted by the dominant theories in the case of Hong Kong. Of the three major theoretical approaches that dominate research, the industrial society approach, the social democratic model, and the state centered theory, the state centered theory offers the best explanation of policy development. Meanwhile, historical analysis delineates four phases of social development which are marked by different approaches: residualism, "big bang" expansion, incrementalism, and privatization. The results of the study cast many doubts on the applicability of the concept of the "welfare-state regime," as the developmentalist state of Hong Kong has turned to social welfare to create a peaceful environment for its economic development and to enhance the legitimacy of the colonial system.

The British rule in Hong Kong ended in 1997 and it is now both timely and intellectually inspiring to look back at the last twenty-five years of the British rule, when Hong Kong was transformed from a low-cost manufacturing base into one of Asia's most vibrant international service centers. The underlying social and political tensions of the society during this period of change constitute the focus of this present monograph, which is a collection of articles written by well known scholars and academics in Hong Kong. What have been the moral values and motivating forces of the Chinese population during this period of economic growth? How was the population organized and how were political parties formed to air their old grievances and newly found legitimate claims? How did the Hong Kong British government cope with such social forces and conflicts both in the urban areas and among the rural communities? What have been the identities and allegiances of the local populace in view of the Chinese recovery of the city? The authors, who witnessed these events and some even participated in the process, try to answer these and many other questions with convincing eloquence and insights with the help of decade-long surveys and statistical analyses.